Highest sale in the last hour was for a German retailer, with a €34.000 sale earning €2.720 in commission!

Clothing overtakes Electronics in Germany as the number 1 sector this Black Friday, further demonstrating that clothing retailers are leading the uptake of Black Friday in Europe

Clothing best performing sector followed by Department Stores and Health and Beauty

Smartphone sales are up 90% in Germany YoY

The Netherlands has more than doubled the number of smartphone sales

Spain is up 75% for smartphone

Tablet has remained stagnant YoY and even dropped in some markets

Tesco DirectZalandoCurrysLa RedouteLook Fantastic

Revenue up 538% compared to an average Friday!

Commission up by 531% compared to an average Friday!

What have you guys been buying today?

Sonos Play

7450

iPad Air 2

7240

Sales per hour (in €)

AOV

€109.90

Number of countries where sales have been tracked

156

59%

18%

23%

We think that zanox will break it’s 2015 BF record after 9pm. The day has proved bigger than we hoped, the network’s thousands of affiliates have driven around €60k every minute of the day in revenue.

"Brazil is again showing fantastic growth, similar to the US market, as Black Friday is seen as the consumer event of the year. We're seeing over 10x growth in all industries" Rodrigo Genoveze, zanox Brazil Country Manager

Clothing is still dominating the sectors and despite strong performance from Electronic retailers, the sector is lagging behind Health & Beauty and Department Stores.

zanox presents: Black Friday 2016

Follow our character, Black Friday Barney throughout the day using your arrow keys (or fingers if on a touch device) to view live statistics and observation boxes filled with hourly commentary. We’ll also be sharing additional updates from our local markets in this box for a snapshot look of each hour across the globe.

Will more European markets embrace Black Friday? What will be the biggest single shopping hour? Will mobile activity continue to dominate the morning? How much are consumers spending on Black Friday? Make sure to come back each hour as the day develops.

Highlights throughout the day:

07.00-08.00 – Brazil started early with midnight numbers showing a big boost of Brazilian retailers as two occupied the top 5 advertiser slots.

08.00-09.00 – 27% of sales are being initiated by the iPhone, 6% by Android handsets.

09.00-10.00 – 289% uplift for the Netherlands clothing sector, smartphones’ share of converting devices up from 19% to 28%. Poland and Brazil both doubling in smartphone sales volume.

10.00-11.00 – The same three affiliate types are accounting for the top three places again in 2016: 30% Discount Code, 23% Cashback, 10% Content.

11.00-12.00 – We take stock of the day and evaluate what is happening around the globe. Territories previously resistant, the Netherlands in particular, appear to be embracing the American phenomena.

12.00-13.00 – We share which of our markets have seen the biggest YoY uplift so far including Italy, Spain and Sweden.

13.00-14.00 – Sales revenue is up 538% compared to an average Friday.

14.00-15.00 – We reveal the top selling products so far, including the iPad Air 2.

15.00-16.00 – The average order value is reported at €138.27.

16.00-17.00 – Sales tracked in 156 countries by 17.00 across the Group. Almost lunchtime in Brazil and the beauty and cosmetic industry has already seen 900% growth compared to an average Friday.

17.00-18.00 – We look at device share of sale and smartphone has over taken tablet, edging closer to desktop.

18.00-19.00 – The Netherlands and Poland close to doubling their 2015 trading.

19.00-20.00 – We share the average lag time in each market – Brazilian customers converted within the shortest time while UK consumers taking over two hours to purchase their items.

20.00-21.00 – We interview one of our UK retailers to hear how Black Friday has been shaping up for them.

21.00-22.00 – Another phenomenal Black Friday on the network, proving that ecommerce is King of the Black Friday castle.

Big boost for Brazilian retailers so far

So Black Friday is off to a bang already!

With the early numbers in it looks like it could be a bumper day for affiliates. Last year Black Friday represented a €100m 24 hours for the zanox Group. So what sort of impact do you think affiliate marketing will have this year? And will those markets who have yet to embrace it do so this year?

The midnight numbers showed a big boost for Brazilian retailers, occupying the top five retailer slots. But given the time difference this is probably to be expected.

Brazil had a massive Black Friday in 2015 and we know the team has been working hard to ensure this year is even bigger.

Broadly speaking the UK, the Nordics and southern Europe have been more responsive to Black Friday. The question this year is whether France, the Netherlands, Poland and Germany will respond.

Keep checking the site across the course of the day as we look at a whole range of interesting metrics that showcase the power of the affiliate channel.

BF 2016 set to be a huge day for mobile

Customer journeys are becoming far more complex, just think about how you switch between mobile and desktop, back to mobile and then possibly a tablet over the course of a day.

Throughout the day multiple devices will typically be used in the path to conversion. The past couple of hours will have seen millions of consumers check their mobile devices on the way to work and now people will switch to their desktop as they arrive at work.

What volumes of sales are being driven by different devices? Using data from the UK network we can see that our early numbers from today are showing almost 27% of sales are being initiated by the iPhone, another 6% by Android handsets.

With one third of sales coming from traditional Windows devices, BF 2016 is shaping up to be a huge day for mobile.

Mobile is less prevalent as a device in other countries across the Group but there is no doubt we’ll see a boost in their numbers as the day progresses. Keep an eye on our mobile splits over the next few hours. What is becoming increasingly clear is that there is no one dominant device or platform. Optimising across all is now an absolute necessity.

Netherlands clothing sector sees 289% uplift in sales

We predicted that this year that Germany, France and the Netherlands would embrace Black Friday more in 2016 than previous years. In the first two hours alone, the clothing sector in the Netherlands has seen a 289% uplift in sales compared to 2015.

The clothing sector is also dominating in Italy, with Zalando, Amazon BuyVip and Zalando Privè driving the most sales for Black Friday so far.

So in the last hour we looked at the devices that help drive interest in sales on the network. What happens when we look at how handsets, tablets and desktops actually drive conversions?

So far today we’ve see smartphones’ share of converting devices increase from 19% in 2015 to 28%. That’s a huge increase of almost 50% with Poland and Brazil both doubling in sales volumes. Other countries seeing a significant uplift include The Netherlands and Italy.

Publisher Split

And here is the network split of publishers, featuring our top five affiliate types across the whole network.

Remember that we have a huge amount of publisher classifications which is why the ‘Other’ section is the largest:

Halfway there

So as we reach the half way point of Black Friday we’re showing some YoY comparison stats in the scrolling whiteboard above.

Remember you can also see what’s happening at our sister network in the UK, Affiliate Window at www.awinblackfriday.com.

So what’s happening elsewhere around the world? Last year Brazil shocked us all by massively outperforming all other markets and with the time difference midnight CET saw a significant spike in transactions from South America. As Brazil wakes up we can expect a surge in sales. Similarly for west coast Americans, they’ve had just a few minutes of Black Friday action.

Health and Beauty and Clothing are proving particularly popular on Black Friday this year across all markets, with Clothing pulling well clear of any other categories.

Early indications are that some of the territories previously resistant to Black Friday – most notably The Netherlands – have taken up the mantle and embraced the American phenomenon. This may have been helped by the efforts of the Dutch zanox team. According to Country Manager, Lauri Koop, “We looked at what was happening in other countries and wanted to create interest in Black Friday here. We threw all our weight behind creating offers and partnerships with our publishers and advertisers well in advance”.

In France Black Friday is being celebrated but under a different non de plume. French supermarket group Auchan calls their sale “Un Crazy Weekend.” Meanwhile mail-order retailer La Redoute calls it “Le Grand Weekend.”

Biggest YoY uplift

So which of our countries saw the biggest YoY uplift for sales volume from midnight – 11am….

Brown = 2015, orange = 2016

Uplift compared to an average Friday

The above data shows what uplift Black Friday is seeing against an average Friday on the network. This year adds an additional curveball as it’s not pay day for many people (unlike last year), so could this hold some people back from splurging on that additional gift?

In Belgium we’ve seen an uplift in clicks from 26% compared to Black Friday last year and 121% compare to an average Friday on the network.

Despite seeing remarkable YoY sales uplift, zanox Italy Country Manager Sheyla Biasini believe the Italian market still has room to grow: “a lot of people still don’t know what Black Friday is but they can’t resist a good deal and the Italian media are generating interest around the event. From our side we negotiated visibility packages and exclusive promotions for our clients.”

We’ll be updating some of the biggest purchases on the network later in the day and if you’re interested in how many consumers outside of the UK are taking advantage of the double whammy of the fall in the value of sterling coupled with significant discounts, we’ll also be giving you our initial findings at 4pm.

So what can we expect for this afternoon? Now the lunchtime peak is over there’s a bit of an afternoon lull with performance rumbling along, strong, if unspectacular.

Product insights from the UK market

There’s always a flurry of interest in what the hottest products and biggest sellers are going to be on Black Friday. Here we’ve offered some insights into the a couple of big ticket items that have been selling strongly across the network.

According to John Lewis the best-selling products as of mid-morning are:

The Sonos Play 1 (mentioned above) is the biggest technology seller, selling one every ten seconds

The Lego Simpsons house is the top seller by value

Marc Jacobs perfume is the strongest seller by number

Sophie Conran crockery is the best seller in John Lewis’s home department Home

Dino Rocos, lead director and operations director at John Lewis, said online sales had “exceeded expectations”.

Meanwhile Carphone Warehouse has reported their highest ever number of orders made via mobile phone as well as:

Orders up 480% compared to the same time last week

iPhone 7, Samsung S7 and iPhone 6S most popular products to date

Virtual Reality orders up 300% compared to last week

How does Average Order Value compare?

With Black Friday’s focus on higher ticket items it’s natural that we would expect to see a hike in average order values.

Compare Black Friday to Cyber Monday from last year and the difference is obvious:

So what is performance from Black Friday 2016 showing us compared to last year so far? Here we take a top level approach to AOV across all major zanox markets:

Cross-border transactions & Brazilian figures

Last year more than more 150 countries tracked sales for retailers across zanox on Black Friday. Advertisers are increasingly seeing the value in being able to push their product ranges to consumers cross-border, especially when they can offer a significant USP, be it on price, delivery options or availability.

It’s no surprise then that as more and more consumers shop online they look further afield.
Black Friday 2016 has already witnessed huge spikes in traffic from China, a growing phenomenon that is only set to continue. And with time zone differences it ensures advertisers are kept on their toes to ensure they run around the clock enterprises.

As zanox kicked off the day Lookfantastic’s Chinese programme was already a top three performer. Meanwhile for zanox Brazilians who were late night shopping and taking advantage of the huge Black publicity there ensured they dominated the early hours for zanox in Europe.

And this year people in almost 160 countries had bought from an affiliate programme across the zanox Group by 5pm. This undoubtedly shows one of the key strengths of the network that affiliates can drive sales in countries as diverse as Iraq, Martinique and Monaco.

Meanwhile The Hut Group has seen a huge uplift in sales from Asian countries beside China, most notably Japan.

We also see retailers who have expanded beyond their home markets reaping the benefits of Black Friday in other markets. Take Zalando for example, a German company that is one of the top performing advertisers on the network today.

Now that it’s almost lunchtime in Brazil we can report that following a phenomenal Black Friday last year, it’s showing no signs of slowing down. In the first few hours of the day:

A retailer saw 1.100 sales in the first hour of BF.

Fashion, sports and decor websites saw an average growth of almost 400%

The beauty and cosmetic industry have seen the biggest uplift so far: 900% growth, compared to an average Friday.

Retail websites continue to lead with sales selling 14x more, compared to 24 hours of an average Friday.

The pharmacy industry drove 4x more in revenue

Time for a device update. Earlier we talked about how smartphone growth was an early headline from 2016. Like for like to 9am this was undoubtedly the case. Inevitably as people spent much of the next eight hours desk or homebound, that proportion of sales dropped away but is still tracking ahead of 2015.

For certain mature mobile markets such as the UK and Nordic countries the increases have been less dramatic than others starting at a lower level.

What will be interesting in 2016 is how much tablets will come into play at a later stage in the day. 2016 has seen tablets run out of steam as sales stagnated, almost universally across the group. Clearly consumers have lost their reticence to use smaller handset devices as advertisers optimised the experience and smartphones have become ubiquitous.

So what of the three major affiliate types we’ve seen account for the majority of sales across the network on BF 2016? Smartphones account for 24% of editorial sales, 22% of voucher transactions and 13% for cashback, representing a 20%, 47% and 30% respective year on year hike.

Netherlands & Poland trading doubles

So while Barney’s kicking back in the pub enjoying a well-earned beer after a, well let’s face it, pretty short working day, we can have another recap.

You may have seen our predictions for Black Friday and why we thought affiliates would conquer Black Friday. If not why not read them here.

Of the four probably the most encouraging across the Group is how many countries seem to have seen significant upticks in performance against 2015.

Our early data for the day shows the Nordics continues to make strong advances while Spain and Italy also see surges in performance.

Most impressively The Netherlands and Poland both seem to be close to doubling their 2015 trading. When the dust settles and we come to assess the fully fledged data, the devil will be in the detail.

Average lag time

Lag time is the time between a consumer clicking and purchasing. As we look at the data globally, we can see the difference in conversion times by country on Black Friday. UK customers take over two hours to purchase their items and Brazilian customers convert within the shortest time span.

Interview with UK retailer

While Black Friday is often dominated by the major brands, what has been clear from analysing the performance on the network for the past few years, is there’s space for retailers all shapes and sizes to get involved.

We spoke to Elliot Myers who runs the affiliate programme for Gymshark in the UK on the Affiliate Window network about how Black Friday is shaping up for them this year.

How is Black Friday performing for you? It has blown us away, we’ve smashed all expectations and then some. Especially glad to see a massive tipping away from incentivised channels into influencers who are in some cases massively outperforming major intensive sites and our more established sources of revenue.

Have you done anything differently this year? It’s our first Black Friday as we’re a young business however we did want to ensure we had a good mix of incentive and non-incentive sales which we have achieved!

Have you noticed any different trends this year? We can’t make a direct comparison however in my experience having work at Affiliate Window and seeing the affiliate mix typically being weighted towards incentive channels I’ve seen a massive shift for Gymshark towards influencers which is incredible.

We’ve noticed a small double digit smartphone sale increase this year, is this a trend you’re also seeing? We’re a mobile focused business, we see high volumes through mobile and yes we have seen great results from mobile devices.

Ecommerce proves King of the Black Friday castle

We made it! Barney got his bargains, ecommerce proved it’s King of the Black Friday castle and the affiliates demonstrated they lead the way in online retail.

While the biggest trading day in the calendar still has some running to do (especially for our colleagues in the US and Brazil), we’re signing off for the day (and a well-earned pint).

So what have we learned? Well Black Friday has proved remarkably resilient. Some retailers chose to step back this year while others got on board for the first time. For markets newer to Black Friday they have yet to have the dilemmas in more established countries about whether to embrace Black Friday and, if so, how. Black Friday is no longer a single day event. In fact it probably never was. Previously we saw it as the left hand bookend of Cyber weekend but now it appears to be the apex in a week long retail feeding frenzy as retailers go earlier and earlier.

In doing so they not only push the key trading period further away from Christmas but they also add to the general confusion about the whole event. It’s yet to be seen how much this now entrenched shopping phenomenon will impact December and indeed January 2017 (which could make for very lean times for our brands).

Remember to check out the zanox blog next week as we decipher Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the wider retailer landscape.